The Most Important Room
by various crimes
Summary: Akito wants to know the loyalty of the Zodiac and how many of them are willing to be used. Warning -Sexual content- and - MAJOR SPOILERS- please enjoy
1. Sex

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The idea for this plot stemmed from reading SunMoonAndSpoon's story called Aki In The Bath, where the author wonders about Hatori and Akito's sex life in one part and I thought about Akito and 'everybody' and came up with this.

WARNING SPOILERS! If you don't want to know certain things about the mysterious Akito, please don't read this.

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SEX

~_It's in your eyes what's on your mind_~

With all the Zodiac members at her feet how could she pick just one lowly servant to love the most? At first everyone thought it would be the rat and for a while that was the case. Only she could never fulfill that love carnally and resorted to solely beating him. Watching him cry out in pain and bleed for her was stimulating but he never reacted how she wanted him to, she wanted him to join her in her bliss. Didn't it feel good to know that all his sins could be purged with a simple stroke of a whip? At night, after he left, leaving spots of blood and teardrops on the wooden floor, in her mind's eye, she envisioned his blood was painted all over her skin. That was how strongly they were connected. He never thanked her for the attention she was lavishing on him and he never smiled.

As she grew older she knew that she needed someone else, someone who knew her secret. Within the zodiac there were only four of the elder generation that knew her true gender.

Shigure, Hatori, Ayame, and Kureno. So like a child at a zoo, she had to see all the animals, and she would have her fun with them all.

Shigure definitely had the most potential. He was handsome, knew exactly what to say and where to touch. The only problem was that he liked to take control and his favorite position made her feel disgraced. She ended it after a time and moved on to her precious doctor. Surely he who knew so much about her body could make her blood boil in her veins, and not out of anger. However, she was sorely mistaken.

Hatori liked to take his sweet time and was so gentle with her that she quickly grew bored. It was a very strange transition from being roughly taken to feeling like she was copulating with a dead fish. But the worst was yet to come.

Ayame was loud. One kiss to his jawbone had him moaning like an elephant. But she tried to ignore it and see if he could pleasure her and make her scream with even more passion. However, he did the unthinkable, he bowed to return her kiss and latched his mouth to her neck, biting into her pale soft skin, without her permission. Did she ask to be marked by the likes of him? NO! She grabbed a fistful of ridiculously long silver hair and slammed his face into the nearby wall-mirror. Whispering with murderous venom into his ear, that if he ever got close to her again, she would personally remove his tongue. With wide eyes and rubbing his now crooked nose, he nodded and dashed out of the room, completely naked.

That was the last straw; was there no one who could satisfy her desires? Was she to die without experiencing extraordinary sex? That just could not happen.

One day, a quiet man politely knocked on her door. A man that did not even belong to her, and yet here he was kneeling on the floor with eyes averted, his whole body screaming, 'Master take me' while he was utterly unaware of his own enticing appeal. She knew this was it, just by sitting there. It made her lick her lips at the sight. He appeared before her like a gift for God. Her eyes slowly scanned him up and down. She imagined him wrapped in chains and it made her quiver. She had not spoken, still had not given an order, and so he raised his face and asked what was her will? Bending her knees, lowering herself, ever so slightly, she stretched out her pale reedy arm and traced a finger down his cheek before snagging it inside his fully buttoned up dress shirt. Swiftly pulling him forward by the collar into an unexpected and heated kiss.

The bedroom, where she spent almost every second of her life, was transformed into a haven that she could actually appreciate. He allowed her to be on top and he responded with vigor to any and every wish. With each upward thrust she rose higher until she felt she could reach out her fingertips and touch the clouds, with him, she could fly.

~ to be continued ~


	2. Beauty

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you very much for the reviews!! I hope the point of view change is acceptable. WARNING- MAJOR SPOILERS – Enjoy!

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BEAUTY

~_Holding the hand that holds me down_~

The Sohma home was perfect, not many people would say that, but it's true. It was and still is, a sea of lies, traditions, and petty anxieties. Oh, how deep and dark it could become and it was all so thrilling really, at least as an observer. A one-time-more-than-friend once told him that he was a jellyfish and she was absolutely correct. Only he could manage to stay afloat, none of it could touch him. It was all water off a duck's back and all that. Until Akito let herself get swamped. She had to succumb; she who had the Zodiac's unwavering respect, if only out of fear, yet she could not find the strength to rise above it, and that was maddening.

So he turned to books, not as an escape from reality, but as a window into the real world. He explored libraries and schools, not to get an eyeful of young females -though telling Akito that had just about made his day- but to no avail. He even read all the old texts regarding the Sohma family long before Rin took an interest in them.

Ultimately he paused and sat down in consideration. Perhaps he was going about things the wrong way, he must not lose courage now, and besides frantically scrambling was not his style. He needed to remain constant otherwise Akito would worry, start to suspect, maybe even grow to hate him. Oh and she would despise him, if she knew how far he was willing to go to destroy everything she _thought _she loved.

In truth the only one who loved the Sohma house was Shigure. It made him laugh to himself, because he alone could bask in Akito's affection. No one wanted her like he did. No one needed her like he did. He knew, even before he was introduced to God, that his love could only be returned in full force by a beautiful, ephemeral being whose heart was about to burst. If there is one thing Akito has in abundance, it's passion. Passionate joy- as a child anyway- passionate anger, passionate speech, and she will learn passionate love- in all aspects of the word; he would make sure of it.

As a child, she was an innocent girl, who had yet to witness the evils of the world. When something remotely bad happened she cried enough tears to supply an entire rain forest. They were such tragic yet pretty tears; when her eyes were puffy, red, and swollen, and a thin line of snot poured down toward cracked yet plump lips, he could not stop himself from approaching her, and offering her a flower. She had yet to witness the beauty of the world too. She took the gift and held it carefully in small fingers. A deep blush, that outshone the rose, suffused her cheeks and she smiled through her tears.

When they were alone in her room. Everything he spoke was the truth. He told her she was beautiful, even if that word did not do her justice. He told her that her skin felt like the inside of flower petals, and that even in men's clothing she was attractive. Taking off that tie of hers was even more exciting. Each button was a slow tease, and while she wore male garb they could play with each other longer, or just rip open the material and cause buttons to fly off to distant corners of the room. It depended on the mood really. He would tell jokes, because he knew she didn't like the outfit, and it would make her blush. She would probably kill to wear something sexy and feminine, but that was only because she did not know how much he already loved her. She could wear a garbage bag and that would not deter him, but wearing nothing is always an excellent option as well. The smell of her sweat only made him more aroused. It wasn't a particularly pleasant smell, but when it mixed with that of his sex, to him, it was better than any smell in nature. Lying next to her on the sticky and dampened futon became his absolute favorite place to be. He adored it when she would murmur in her sleep and tuck her head snuggly on his shoulder. Gently, very gently, he would move the strands of hair that stuck to her forehead, and look upon her closed eyelids. Why couldn't they just stay like this for all time? But in the morning light, he could see the deep circles under her eyes, watch the stiff way she put her crumpled clothing back on, and how she would turn from him, ask him to leave in a bitter, deep, male voice. Both awake, the dream would end, and he went back on the hunt, to break the so-called curse.

He did not fret when she claimed that she needed something new. After all she always came back to him. He did not blame Hatori either, for he knew his heart could never get involved, that man could never look at her as a woman who needed love. Try as he might, Hatori secretly hated her, and Shigure suspected, that he continued to adhere to her beck and call, that he administered medication to her sniffles and coughs, only to prolong her suffering in that house. Maybe, before he met Kana, he could have had genuinely good feelings toward her, but that was destroyed the day she tore Kana out of his life.

Yes, he loved that bastard, if he did not have that wonderful cold side there was no way they could have remained such good friends. And Aya, ah poor man, well there was nothing to worry about on that front.

But **him-** he made his hackles rise and bear his teeth, as a dog, he felt obliged to do great harm to her new lover. After she slept with **him** she did not return. She actually believed that she preferred him. There was something off about that guy, and not only because he was her new toy. Could he kill him? He felt his anger rise, and he struggled to keep his emotions under control; he did not want to turn into a mutt at this time. In the end it was up to Akito and she seemed to enjoy that- person's presence.

If that is her choice, then Shigure decided to leave. He would not stay and watch this, **nobody**, paw all over her. He wanted to stay, to protect her, but that was not her desire. He packed his belongings in a daze. Was that his tie or hers? Where did he put that book? No, he couldn't leave without- his best pen! He was shaken from his thoughts by the sound of approaching footsteps. Could it? An upset young man, with a tuft of dazzling white hair on top of pitch black, came up to him with his hands out begging: almost as if _he_ were God. Well this is interesting.


	3. Time

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well here is another chapter I was on a roll! However please tell me if there are things that make absolutely no sense, I may have been writing on an empty stomach.

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TIME

~_You're not a person you're a disease_~

She asked for him tonight, when he knew that she was perfectly healthy. He walked down the halls in his socks, with his white doctor coat still on. He slid open the door without knocking, he had been there so many times before. **He** stood by the window, wearing a red men's kimono. It revealed the back of his neck and a small portion of his back, he shouldn't be wearing it so loosely . . . he slowly turned to him, cocking his head to the side while a grin climbed up his face below challenging eyes. Abruptly, he sat up on the window ledge allowing the garment to slide up his leg, revealing more of his pale skin. His whole demeanor alarmed Hatori, and yet he stood like a stone. Akito leaned against the side of the open window frame tilting his head back and releasing a long sigh. Hatori took a few steps forward until he was standing at the window, not close enough to touch. He asked what was wrong and his head snapped down to glare at him with fierce intensity. Was he not good enough to tempt him?

**She **made a lovely sight under the moonlight, her clothing appeared to be like liquid that could drip off of her in any moment, and all of it sickened him. He crossed his arms over his chest and replied in a soft murmur, he was her doctor and nothing more. Then he should fix her! Make her feel good! She launched herself at him and he had to catch her, he could not let her injure herself. When she felt his arms instinctively move to support her, she wrapped her own arms around his neck and clung to him. Please, she said, please, please make love to me. He turned his head and softly kissed her cheek quieting her immediately. He kissed her other cheek, her forehead, her nose, then her neck and shoulder. Never, he thought, Never.

The next morning, he got up and left him under the covers. As he slid the door shut behind him he put a hand to his forehead. He had not betrayed_ Kana_; he had not betrayed either of them. He shook his head, how could a **woman** be so heartless? This world never ceased to amaze him. He turned and made his way back to his office, with his white coat draped over his arm. He sat in his black chair, and gazed at the picture on his desk, of the only woman who ever mattered to him. _Kana_, what would she think? He suddenly heard her voice his head, I'm so glad to have met you, and even happier to have fallen in love with you! Kana is so kind, so dear, she would understand. As a doctor it was his job to fight illness, and it seemed that he might have caught something. He- She was a part of him, a sickness that very well might kill him.

Shigure was right, in some ways, when he glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and whispered in jest, here comes your nemesis. He stared at Shigure in question, why did he seem calmer than ever whenever she came into a room, while everyone else looked as if they had just been shocked? A spring breeze whistled through the window ruffling his hair. Oh . . . he wanted to hit him.

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Second Author's Note: Hatori knows that Akito is a girl; he just doesn't like to think of her that way. I hope was able to convey that properly. Thank you for reading!


	4. Hope

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter is different from the rest. I couldn't seem to write the whole thing in only his perspective, and it needed dialogue- he is such a loquacious and bold character after all :) -I wish he was the one to break the curse but whatever-

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HOPE

~_ Traveled all over the seven oceans; There is nothing that I wouldn't give_~

"**The fairy queen was kidnapped from her court and stolen away to a hidden chamber deep inside a mountain. The fairies flew in a panic, who could have done such a foul deed? And what could they possibly do to save her? It just so happened that a breath taking young man seemingly out of nowhere wandered into their forest completely unbeknownst to him, that he had just set foot inside a magical fairy realm. The smallest and sweetest of the fairies abandoned her magic spell of invisibility and revealed herself to him. She begged him to rescue their queen, and he being so majestic and of royal blood himself hastened to comply. The dashing prince braved many dangers such as the waters of Furubaba. Thank goodness that it was springtime otherwise, in the blistering cold of winter he would have had to walk over ice. At last he made it to the mountaintop where the fairies sensed she had been taken to. However, they failed to shed light on the fact that a giant fire breathing dragon and a massive three-headed dog heavily guarded it. The prince did not turn back, for he had vowed to bring her home so he valiantly fought the two beasts and bested them in battle. Only to find that the queen was gone; He knew that she had been there only moments before, for on the ground was a pair of purple, translucent wings. He picked up the wings, intent on at least taking those back, but they disappeared from his shaking fingers."**

**"**Wow Ayame that was great! Did anyone ever tell you, you should write children's books?" The young blond boy bounced up from the ground where he had been sitting cross-legged and came up to his side smiling brightly.

"Why don't you try telling us what really happened Aya?" Gure commented from a chair in the back of the room.

"I guess that's my sign to leave!" Momiji piped up running lightly out the door, "Tell me more about the prince and the queen later okay!"

The only sound was the shifting of paper that Hatori turned over on his desk, he no longer told people not to play in his office; no one listened to him anyway.

**"What- really happened?" he asked softly, staring down at his hands.**

Hatori put the papers down and looked worriedly at his friend. He turned sharply to Shigure growling,

"Don't push him."

"Ah but we all need a little push now and then isn't that right Aya?"

"**Yes that is absolutely right! I know it in my heart that I could never hide anything from the two of you it would just be plain folly . . ."**

**"**You ruined any chance of getting anything coherent out of him for at least an hour." Hatori allowed a tiny smile onto his face, he preferred Ayame when he was lively, and not, how he had been the last few days. He stood up, and Ayame's mouth shut at his movement.

"You don't have to tell us anything if you don't want to, it's entirely up to you, and frankly, I don't care." He slipped on his coat and walked out into the sunlight.

"Well it looks like it's just you and me." Gure stood as well putting both his hands on Ayame's shoulders and steering him to the chair that Hatori had just vacated.

**"Gure, I can't open up about it now, the wound is too recent too painful." **

"Do you not trust me anymore?"

**"Well Tori already knows most of it and if you must know, then I shall divulge these secrets under one condition." **

"And what is that?"

**"That you won't get angry and you won't laugh at me." **

"Hmm, I can't promise you that but I'll try." Shigure walked to the other side of the desk and sat across from him waiting for him to collect his thoughts.

**Things really had turned out quite dreadfully. He should not have hoped, that she could ever see him as a man who could show her the wonders of a deep relationship. Then again what did he know of deep relationships? All those that he had lain with, had been one time flings. No he mustn't call them flings, that made it seem as if he were throwing them away . . . rejecting them. So this is what is feels like to be rejected? Humiliated. Completely ignored. Oh my . . . is this how Yuki felt? When he had asked for help?**

**"Yuki." He whispered. **

"What does he have to do with anything?" Shigure asked with raised eyebrows.

**He didn't reply he just bolted out the door, toward a home that he had not been in for several years. **


	5. Fear

FEAR

~ Let me fall if I must fall~

When she kissed him the first time, he felt a brief flash of surprise, for which he was eternally grateful. An emotion, other than sadness or boredom, was something to be cherished. No one ever seemed to care for him and suddenly he was important even if it was only for his body. He could make someone happy, for a few precious moments. Happiness is only temporary which could also be said for sadness, he knew that, and yet he had been melancholic for such a long time. He thought he would live out his days alone until she touched him and wanted to be touched by him as well. This physical relationship should have been enough. But the gloom kept creeping back in with more force than ever before. He should have known, that this thing between them never existed.

Nevertheless she held on so tightly, her nails clawing into every stretch of skin that she could reach. Her tears melded with his own. Yes, they were so alike, both incredibly weak. He could have left her, he could have avoided getting involved with her altogether; but he was afraid. He had never been in love and what if no one ever came to love him? He knew he was not very interesting, smart, or capable. In actuality he was extremely clumsy and had no talents to speak of. Day-to-day living was just about the most difficult thing that ever was, and she knew. She knew exactly how he felt. So when she pulled him toward her, and pressed her mouth to his, it was as if she were saying: let's be afraid together.

It was wrong but he wanted to know that he was not the only one suffering. However, the agony only deepened, and that pleases her in a twisted way. So he stayed, thinking that he could make her at least a little bit happier, and perhaps, lift her out of this misery, even if he will be left behind. It was too late for him anyway. Ah, but making Akito happy was nearly impossible. Besides he did not love her, so how could anything but sorrow be born?

They spent numerous nights together; in what she believed was a peaceful understanding when in reality his anxiety levels were steadily increasing. And then a confrontation broke out, between his sempai and him. They met in the halls, for a minute he stood still glaring at him with an eerie light reflected in intense brown eyes. He spoke in low, clipped tones, as if every word was painful for him. I'm leaving; he bit out, though that fact was obvious seeing all the bags around him. Then he took a few steps closer, his eyes never straying from boring into his own. Do you see the irony? He asked raising an arm up holding his hand out in a movement reminiscent of Hamlet holding a skull. It's so funny I could get sick, Kureno, you make me sick. And without giving him any time to respond, he turned around, hefted his bags and strode out the door.

Gure sempai left. He just walked out as if it was the simplest thing to do. To go out into the world where strangers will look at you and try to determine who or what you were. He could never do that; he was not as brave. The door was left wide-open . . .maybe . . .Akito was screaming and something was shattering in the house, he must go to her, that door was not opened for him.


	6. Love

LOVE

~_I've tried many times but nothing was real_~

"Where were you?" Akito hissed as soon as the door to her bedroom opened.

"I was busy." Kureno replied with a grim expression.

"Busy? Too busy to visit me?" She scratched her chin and bent to retrieve a black top. Her shoulders shook with silent laughter after she picked up the thin fabric; "I don't remember telling you to do anything today."

He swallowed and watched as she thrust one arm through the sleeve, then the other, then she spun around to face him as she did up the buttons.

"I went out. It was my own decision." She didn't say anything she simply backhanded him across the face. He supported himself on his hand and straightened up again, not daring to touch the injury.

"I'm sorry you disobeyed me." She nearly purred. She pressed a finger into his cheek right where a bruise was beginning to form.

"Does it hurt?" She pushed harder until he flinched.

"Yes."

"I had to do it, you left without telling me!" She screeched. She fell to her knees and hugged him.

"I know." He sighed in her ear. She hung on for a few minutes loving the way she felt his breath in her own chest. She stood swiftly and went to her closet to find the slate gray pants.

"You can leave for now." She ordered with her back to him.

"I will take my leave, thank you Akito." He murmured and left without another sound. Akito snatched the pants from the hanger, thought of something, scurried over to the door and poked her head around the edge knowing that he had not gone far. She took a deeper breath and called out, "Don't leave the grounds without asking me first."

"Understood." He confirmed with a stiff back and his head bent. She nodded to herself and finished changing. Next she ran a comb through her short dark hair. She glanced in the mirror and frowned. So he really did want to leave. Even though he had promised he'd never leave her side, even after all she had given him, she had even made him her most prized possession and he still wanted to go. She put both hands in her hair and messed it up grabbing at the short strands and pulling until it hurt. She did it until tears pricked her eyes and everything was too blurry to see.

"Ku-re-no." She whimpered. She fell to her knees again, then down to her side, and the tears kept coming. She gripped her hair with one hand and her shirt at the stomach with the other, clenching her fists as her whole body trembled under quiet sobs.

Kureno sat in his office staring at his computer screens desktop. He thought about how Akito found out he had actually left, he couldn't tell her that all he wanted to do was go to a convenience store to purchase food. He didn't want to see anyone in particular; he did not want to check if that girl with sun light hair and cheery laughter was still working there. He definitely did not want to know if she would look at him with recognition in her clear blue eyes. He turned his computer off and tilted his head back with closed heavy lids.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just want to thank all my readers who have stuck with this story even with the awful delays in updates. I also want to note that I did a horrible job with Kureno's character, I made him 10xs more pathetic than he is in the manga- I don't know why I did that -I even like him too. Oh I guess there is a time jump too since Kureno did finally get the courage to step outside. If you have any thoughts feel free to post a comment!!


	7. Guilt

GUILT

~_The saint within the sinner_~

A strong autumn wind blew nipping at his nose and cheeks. He grinned and snuggled his chin into the collar of his black overcoat. It was a fine evening and at the moment he was glad to be back at the Sohma home. There was nothing wrong with taking a little break from babysitting. Not that he did much for the younger people who stayed in his house, on the contrary it was more like they took care of him, but it was still a slight reprieve from Kyo's loud shouts and the sound of something crashing or breaking. It was a miracle that the house was still standing after all the damage those kids had done. Oh well no matter, he did not have to pay for it and boys will be boys after all. He chuckled to himself before resuming a straight face and softly padding across the wooden porch. Maybe he could visit Haa-san after speaking with Akito first of course.

He was pleasantly relieved to find that she was alone in her room, probably having sent Kureno off to do something. He did not close the door behind him there was no need. A faint chill swept into the room or maybe it had always been this cold. She stood still like a heron in a marsh, only it seemed as if it's feet were trapped beneath the shadowy waters and the picture became something much more sinister. He looked away and focused instead on the chest of drawers with an empty vase sitting on top. There must be thousands of vases in this house, he thought. His musings were interrupted when Akito finally spoke. He could tell she was glaring at him, he could feel her heated gaze burning over his profile, but he didn't give her the satisfaction of noticing her ire. First she had asked in a scornful tone if he missed her, he didn't respond. Then she changed tactics and demanded to know about Yuki and about everything that went on in his house. Shigure was only too happy to oblige. He left nothing out, he spoke of how Yuki was doing in school, of how Kyo had nearly destroyed the house, and lastly how they were all getting along splendidly with their other guest. She laughed, at least he thought it was a laugh, when he mentioned that Tohru was cooking and cleaning and being the perfect little maid. Akito shook her hair from her eyes and smiled, a small wicked smile. So that's all she was really, a servant, that's all someone like her could ever be, someone like that with no background had no future. Shigure shifted and stood up looking down upon her coolly. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Akito, he softly admonished. Suddenly she reached out and grabbed his chin in her fingers, staring deeply into his eyes. Did he detect a hint of jealousy? He gave her his own smile. She threw his head to the side in disgust breathing heavily through her nose. I think it's about time I met this Tohru Honda, she growled. Shigure nodded in agreement.

In the darker hours of the night, he left her and casually meandered down the familiar halls reacquainting himself with the place. He walked past a closed door and decided not to look in, that was Yuki's special room, the room that Akito used to bring him into to be beaten. He unconsciously began to walk faster towards Hatori's office. He could feel his emotions swirling inside wanting to get out somehow but he reined them in, he had learned from the best how to control himself. That's why he needed to see Hatori right now.

When he finally did find him, he realized he had nothing he wanted to say aloud. So he let Hatori fix him a cup of tea and they sat in companionable silence. After a while he asked Hatori if they could sleep together, causing him to choke on his cigarette. He patted him on the back laughing heartily; He hadn't meant it like that. How could he betray Aya so? He lamented with teary eyes. Hatori glowered at him. You and Akito both are detrimental to my health, he said with gravity. That quieted Shigure at once.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: This whole thing has been kind of like an experiment for me. Thanks for reading!!!


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